• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Meaning of rock circles?

xin loi

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Walked May 14, 2014 from St Jean France

starting to walk again August 25, 2016 --SJPDP to Finisterre
What is the story regarding the rock circles on either hill side near San Juan de Ortega? Are they Druidic? Someone walks the grass down and appears people add rocks to make the circles larger. Was not sure if I was supposed to add a rock to the circles or not. Don't wish to offend local Gods. Probably not a coincidence that after walking by without adding a rock, we were hit with 5 hours of heavy rain.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
The stone circles are actually near Ages in the Atapuerca hills. For basic information regarding this world heritage archaeological site believed to have been inhabited 1.2 million years ago see this WikiPedia article. Also see this recent Forum thread regarding the Sierra de Atapuerca.
 
Last edited:
Join our full-service guided tour of the Basque Country and let us pamper you!
What is the story regarding the rock circles on either hill side near San Juan de Ortega? Are they Druidic? Someone walks the grass down and appears people add rocks to make the circles larger. Was not sure if I was supposed to add a rock to the circles or not. Don't wish to offend local Gods. Probably not a coincidence that after walking by without adding a rock, we were hit with 5 hours of heavy rain.
Seems like similar artifacts are found on all continents, with the possible exception of Antarctica. I once owned a log cabin in the Bighorn Mts. of Wyoming. Nearby is a "medicine wheel." It is a large circle with "spokes" that align with the solstices. According to Native Americans, they were already there when the N.A. arrived several hundred years ago.
 
But these circles have rocks being added by "Pilgrims" or locals. Grass between rocks is freshly trampled down and circles are being extended by addition of new rocks. Was I supposed to add a rock?
 
Went from Atapuerca yesterday - now I'm in Burgos! This is a pic I took on my way to Burgos! Just after Atapuerca there is one! ImageUploadedByCamino de Santiago Forum1404743113.763357.jpg
Ultreia!
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
And you will find them in every jewelry shop, tourist kiosk, and newspaper stand from Burgos to Finistera. The combination of "Celtic Legacy", Lusitanian or the differing Celtiberian heritages , as well as the cultural salad created by the New Age ideology, but thankfully no druids, few witches, but plenty of earrings, pendants, pinky rings, all with or without rock crystals.
 
We have a similar conundrum hereabouts.

At the top of the field outside my window there is an 8,000 year old trackway and if you follow its path westwards for about 21 kms there is a circle of stones that no one can truly explain.

It's called Stonehenge!
Actually ONE of the many cool things about Stonehenge and other circles is that they were used by many incarnations of similar cultures. BUT menat different things. Stonehenge, probably the most well known circles was a work in progress for a few thousand years and nobody knows anything for sure. In any case, they were and probably are sacred to someone somewhere. Treat them with the deference you might a cathedral or a museum piece. They
The stone circle in Medicine Wheel Wyoming is thought to be at least 10,000 years old. Depending on who you talk to (natives in particular) some will say they have always been here and they did not simply arrive across a land bridge. I have a friend who is native and he believes that the feds have covered up evidence of neaderthal remains. That would indicate that natives did NOT migrate here and have always been here. Therefore they could prove that they really do have a case against the European usurpers. But that's another story. The Wyoming medicine wheel is still used by natives today for ceremony.
 
You put a tall stick or stone in the ground and in the course of a day you watch the shadow thrown by it.
When the shadow is at its longest during the day you put a stone on the ground.
It is midday and you now have a north/south line.
In the course of a year you keep watching the shadow on that north/south line.
When the shadow is at its shortest you have mid-summer.
At its longest it is mid-winter.
i.e. the two solstices.
When midway between those two marks you have the equinoces.
You now have a very basic clock/calendar as a guide for when to plant your crops.
And you can begin to see the reason for the first stone circles.
 
Last edited:
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms

Most read last week in this forum

Between Villafranca Montes de Oca and San Juan de Ortega there was a great resting place with benches, totem poles andvarious wooden art. A place of good vibes. It is now completely demolished...
Just an FYI that all available beds are taken in SJPDP tonight - fully, truly COMPLETO! There’s an indication of how busy this year may be since it’s just a Wednesday in late April, not usually...
Left Saint Jean this morning at 7am. Got to Roncesvalles just before 1:30. Weather was clear and beautiful! I didn't pre book, and was able to get a bed. I did hear they were all full by 4pm...
Hi there - we are two 'older' women from Australia who will be walking the Camino in September and October 2025 - we are tempted by the companies that pre book accomodation and bag transfers but...
We have been travelling from Australia via Dubai and have been caught in the kaos in Dubai airport for over 3 days. Sleeping on the floor of the airport and finally Emerites put us up in...
Hi all, Very new to this so please excuse any ignorance or silly questions :) I'm walking my very first Camino in 2 weeks (iieeeek) - the countdown is on and excitement through the roof. I've...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top